In connecting components of various end products, in which the components are to be selectively assembled and disassembled, connectors are desirable between the components. This is particularly true in knock-down furniture which is becoming increasingly popular, for purposes of assembling the furniture components for normal use of the furniture and allowing disassembly of the components when storing or shipping of the furniture is desired.
Although a wide variety of connectors, including those which lock and unlock by snap fitting of one member into another member, have previously been proposed for various components, these previously proposed snap lock connectors have suffered from design deficiencies and lack of flexibility in their use.
For example, the previously proposed snap lock connectors have been complicated in design rendering them expensive to manufacture and have for the most part required the same amount of force for locking the members together for assembly of the components as for unlocking of the members for disassembly of the components. This has resulted in assembled components using such snap lock connectors which are too easily unlocked and disassembled when disassembly of the components is not desired. Additionally, the construction of these previously proposed snap lock connectors have not been suitable for fabrication from inexpensive materials and for mass production for producing inexpensive connectors for use in the industry.
Examples of such prior connectors are disclosed in the following United States Patents:
______________________________________ Patent No. Inventor Issue Date ______________________________________ 3,195,266 R. A. Onanian July 20, 1965 3,520,082 M. M. Smith July 14, 1970 3,541,882 R. Testa November 24, 1970 3,605,201 A. G. Peterson September 20, 1971 3,648,404 C. S. Ogsbury et al March 14, 1972 3,653,146 A. E. Goldfarb April 4, 1972 3,674,229 M. S. Keeler July 4, 1972 3,687,092 J. P. Manning August 29, 1972 3,689,075 L. Adelsohn September 5, 1972 3,730,109 W. J. Kreizel May 1, 1973 3,759,623 K. Hesse September 18, 1973 3,826,206 K. Ruggles July 30, 1974 ______________________________________